When working to develop a new concept school in Bali, Indonesia, maths teacher, Stephen Powell-Peterson wanted to introduce a truly functional flipped classroom. His goal? To enable students to learn theoretical information independently in class or at home and then apply what they learn during lessons. Now at Lucaya International School in the Bahamas, he reflects on where this idea has taken him.
According to Elly Tobin. the needs of learners in international schools have changed dramatically over recent years and at Consilium we have seen a shift from school populations being largely English speaking expats to host national students with limited inital English proficiency seeking an international education through the medium of English.
It will not be long before the number of British schools franchised for overseas campuses reaches the 100 mark. According to Nick Chaddock the explosion of British schools throughout the world shows no sign of slowing, and this phenomenon raises some important issues for EAL learners, as they master ‘academic’ English.
Matthew Savage, Principal at the International Community School in Amman, Jordan, talks about ‘the Mona Lisa Effect’ – a model for personalised learning, which enables us to see beneath the masks that children assume as part of their everyday lives.
Helen Bilton is Professor of Outdoor Learning at the University of Reading, which now offers free on-line Professional Development for both Primary and Secondary TAs. Here she looks at four key ideas for Teachers and TAs to consider as they work together in the classroom.
In the first of three articles about language as the key to learning, Orla Redmond examines ways of creating language-rich primary classrooms, which encourage the kind of talk that will stimulate thinking.
For Shimmi Sharma, discovering Skype in the Classroom opened up a range of experiences for her students, resulting in a sustained impact on their learning.
Gavin McLean argues that when personalised learning is supported by the right kind of resources, the burden placed on educators in the 21st Century can be lightened, learning enhanced and a sense of balance restored.
In a very packed literacy and numeracy focused school day, the ‘other stuff’ can get almost forgotten in the gallop to the exams post. Other subjects such as history may be joined with geography or have an afternoon slot of 40 minutes every other week. Professor of Outdoor Learning, Helen Bilton and Dr Richard Harris from Reading University acknowledge the difficulties, but think it is all the more reason to help children develop a love of the subject by getting them out of the classroom.
Natalia Sidor describes how children of all ages can benefit from learning how to use an abacus – and not just for mathematical calculations.