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.
Jules Fitzgerald argues that access to a good, all-round musical education gives children significant advantages in their cognitive and social development. He identifies 5 areas of development in which a music education can make a difference.
Proofreading is generally considered the last part of the editing process during which students check for errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling. Chris Jay believes it can be so much more.
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.
International schools in China, especially Preschools or Kindergartens, have, over the past couple of years, began to rethink their approach to delivering their curriculum. Stephen Walshe emphasises the importance of a school structure in which school leaders and teachers are visible models of cross-cultural understanding, cooperation and communication.
Language curricula in international education place increasing significance on student ability to produce and analyse a range of text types. The Language Acquisition and Language B Courses of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years and Diploma Programmes are good examples of this trend.
Chris Jay reports how the “Field-Tenor-Mode” analytical approach can build understanding of English texts.
Philosophical discussion might not be what you would expect to find in an early years class room. Stephen Walshe, Co-Principal of the Fortune Kindergarten in Shanghai, encourages us to change our minds.
Grace Kelly firmly believes that Franklin’s maxim, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I will learn” holds true when investigating the benefits of collaborative learning.
Establishing a profile
Susan Stewart was Head of Languages at the International School of London (Surrey) and believes that students should not be expected to ‘park’ their languages at the door. By developing an academic level of their mother tongue language, in addition to English, these students are able to keep their future options open.
