Dave Cain's Primary Ponderings

A Chance To Glimpse the Way Ahead

Dave Cain — Mon, 26 May 2008 18:32:36 +0000

I have just gone through my first HMI inspection and I have to admit it was a very worthwhile experience. Admittedly the weeks prior to the visit were somewhat tense as I had no previous experience of visits to draw on. However the inspectors were quick to try and put people at their ease. I had both a language and maths lesson observed but it was the feedback to these lessons and professional dialogue when I was out of class that was the most worthwhile. We talked about the CfE, assessment, feedback and stretching able pupils. It was interesting to see the way that these influential individuals approached these topics and allowed me to perhaps get a glimpse on the way Scottish Education may be going in the future.

Numeracy Outcomes

Dave Cain — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:44:06 +0000

Spent an enjoyable morning with some of my cluster colleagues, looking at the numeracy outcomes and seeing what opportunities there might be in tackling some of these outside of the traditional maths lesson. It was a very productive morning with current practice and “off-the-wall” ideas being readily shared. We went our separate ways at lunch but have been tasked with building possible activities / outcomes into our plans for post Easter and actually trying to realise some of the opportunities in the classroom after the holiday. We will be meeting again towards the end of the session to share our experiences and discuss what went well and what didn’t. We will be aiming to give some balanced feedback to our head teachers about what support will be needed to move this forward, what CPD might be needed and what barriers will need to be crossed. It promises to be an eventful summer term!

Comic Life & Maths Day

Dave Cain — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:45:43 +0000

Used an excellent bit of software in the class to allow children to create their own photo-strips. Comic Life (http://plasq.com/comiclife/) is easy enough for children to use and gives a nice professional finish giving a positive boost to their self-esteem. It certainly encouraged my group to write their own script, organise their props and costumes and actually choreograph their own photographic efforts. World maths day has now been and gone. In the run up to the actual day when connections were fast, this was a brilliant way to tap into children’s xbox live mentality and they absolutely loved playing against children from around the world. One of my girls said this was absolutely the best thing she had ever done in school! Certainly a glowing recommendation. Sadly, the day itself proved frustrating – high user levels coupled with slow school connection speeds combining to make accessing the site and navigating through to the playing section an excruciatingly slow experience for all concerned.

Computer Crash & World Maths Day

Dave Cain — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:20:44 +0000

Computers are wonderful things when they work but when yours dies it certainly impacts adversely on all aspects of your life. Your children can’t get on MSN or download music, and you can’t saerch the net for resources or blog about your frustrations.

We compounded the issue by simultaneously trying to change our broadband provider – that’s no simple task either. Anyway to cut a long story short after 4 weeks in the IT wilderness we are now back in business (although the girls have a months backlog of music downloads to catch up on!)

Just a plug for World Maths day – I have registered my class for the event and they are really fired up for Wednesday coming. They have even taken to doing extra maths in preparation for the event. That can’t be bad !

School Blogging

Dave Cain — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:04:32 +0000

The staff have had a meeting regarding how we want to proceed with the school blog. This centred round some lively small and larger group discussions on what the desired direction of the blog should follow. Some of the decisions taken were to ensure everyone contributed (minimum one post per month) and no-one took over (maximum one post per week). Teachers to try and produce coverage across the curriculum and not concentrate on specific topics. It was also felt that children’s work should be in a publishable format prior to posting.

I was keen to try and set up a class blog but it was felt we should try and build up some consistency, confidence and expertise across the school before we try and extend the blog further. It is refreshing to see the blog being a prime focus for the school and hopefully the changes we have identified will help parents and carers find the blog a more interesting and varied source of information.

Useful Site for ASfL resources

Dave Cain — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:10:07 +0000

I know it’s been sometime since my last post but a new job (in mid term) and a Christmas show to organise certainly eats into available time. I think I`ve caught up now though!

The website www.asl.scot.nhs.uk is clearly designed for children who would benefit from ASfL. However I have found that some of the resources, with only minor customisation, are a useful tool to use with children of poorer attainment. It’s worth giving the site the once over.

MGS Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Dave Cain — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:22:52 +0000

I’m just back from Musselburgh Grammar School where S4 pupils were presented with their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Awards. The pupils ran the presentation, all doing their own part, explaining to the audience what the award involved and some of the activities they had undertaken. I was really impressed with the confidence they all possessed. I’m grateful there seem to be many opportunities for extra-curricular activities at MGS so that pupils are given the opportunity to develop important life skills as well as academic ones. These awards in particular cover a range of valuable skills. Well done everyone!

On the move

Dave Cain — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:09:45 +0000

Today was my first day back at Pencaitland as class teacher, with P5. Looking back on my time at Prestonpans I’ve learnt much, not least of which is that a nursery career isn’t really for me. On the plus side however I’ve had great experience, and can take into my class teaching, aspects of active learning, learning books and practice in child observation. A couple of highlights of my time was podcasting with the children, and their animation. I was really impressed with the ease with which they picked up the process and how engaged they were - you should never underestimate how capable they are.

I’m now looking forward to taking the new skills I’ve acquired and using them with P5!

Preston Lodge In-Service Day

Dave Cain — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:48:53 +0000

The in-service day at Preston Lodge for the whole cluster proved to be a great opportunity to meet other practioners, share experiences and try to establish some best practice. The focus of the day was Curriculum For Excellence and it was good to see some practical applications beginning to take shape. Nursery staff were split into groups and were asked to make up a planning topic web taking into consideration the new CfE guidelines for Science & Numeracy. This prompted lots of discussion, debates over current practice and talking through possible new avenues for exploration. After a coffee break we then looked through the current nursery/P1 transition document and a variety of “Learning Stories” from the different nurseries present. Again this prompted healthy debate.

At the end of the morning I was once again convinced of the value in allowing staff from different schools to meet and discuss a variety of issues. We can learn so much from each other.

Nursery Curriculum Evening

Dave Cain — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:25:21 +0000

We had a curriculum evening at the end of last week. It was very well attended. This was my first opportunity to take part in such an event. I thought it was a very worthwhile exercise. It gave us an opportunity to talk through both the 3-5 curriculum and ACfE, giving the parents practical examples of the impact on their child’s learning. We also explained how we wanted to operate certain systems – story sack lending and toothbrushing – and ask for parent volunteers. Finally it gave parents and staff a chance to have an informal chat about their child, or the operation of the nursery, over coffee and biscuits.