Don Ledingham’s Learning Log

 
The Open University’s Young Applicants in Schools and Colleges Scheme (or YASS for short) enables academically gifted students in their final two years of school to study a wide range of undergraduate modules at first-year level alongside their Highers and Advanced Highers.
The scheme has only recently been opened up to Scottish schools but I feel it will provide [...]

I attended the National Education conference on Thursday. The event was organised by the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS).
I’ll make a few posts on some of the things I learned during the day and the first of these will relate to the OpenLearn website which gives free access to Open University course materials.  By accessing [...]

When I was out in New Zealand I came across their equivalent of our Scottish Qualifications Authority.  The NZQA are in many ways very similar to our own awarding authority but I did come across one distinct difference which may have some significance for a Curriculum for Excellence.
The New Zealand system uses a system of [...]

As an extension of my Listen and Learn meetings I’ve arranged to meet with four primary 7 pupils (12 year olds) and four secondary first year pupils (13 year olds).  Over the next four weeks I will carry out one meeting in each of our six school clusters (secondary school and associated primary schools).
The focus of [...]

Lake Tekapo
I returned last week from a three week trip to New Zealand to see our son who is spending a year in Christchurch.
It was good to fulfil a lifetime’s ambition to see the country and I wasn’t disappointed.  We were overwhelmed by the hospitality and friendship we encountered - whilst the scenery was spectacular.
In [...]